CEL 41: $18 Multimeter or $33 Sensor?

[serversurfer]

So I finally got around to checking the CEL I've had since I got my new car.

However, I can't decide what to do. I found this spiffy multimeter for $18 on Amazon with Prime, but I also found this oxygen sensor for $33, the same one AutoZone sells for $67.

So if I buy the meter and the sensor tests bad, then I'm still buying a new sensor anyway, right? Granted, I'll have a spiffy multimeter, but I'll also be out an extra twenty bucks. If the sensor does test okay, what comes next? How likely is it that the problem is just a bad sensor anyway? Like, if it's 90% likely to be the sensor, I may as well go straight to that, I think.

 

[serversurfer]

Looks like the sensor I really need is only $27, and that multimeter is actually $19.

Sensor, it is.

 

[JohnS.]

A multi-meter can always come in handy in the future for other purposes. I would get the multi-meter anyways.

And O2 sensor for $27? Sounds cheap as hell to me.....

 

[XpL0d3r]

And O2 sensor for $27? Sounds cheap as hell to me.....

This...

 

[95CTR]

Get both, cause either way its still cheaper then auto zone, and the multi meter will pay for its self after a few uses.

 

[serversurfer]

Yup, $27, and it's shipped and sold by Amazon themselves.

I got a Beck-Arnley front LCA from them for $50 on Prime too. For anything that costs more than a few bucks, I've started checking Amazon and the junkyard, depending on what I'm looking for. It's saved me a bunch of money.

 

[serversurfer]

Hmm. Now I'm not even sure I have an oxygen sensor. It should be in the exhaust manifold, right? I have a CX with a D16Z6 swapped in, but it looks like they kept the stock exhaust manifold. I assume the sensor is supposed to go in a hole that's on the passenger side of the manifold, just where it merges in to a single pipe. However, it seems like that hole has just been plugged. Is there somewhere else the sensor may be? It seems pretty unlikely that I don't have one at all, but maybe that's the cause of the CEL. /shrug

 

[2slo4u]

that could be it..honda either puts it there or down towards/on the cat converter (when the cat isnt one with the manifold)
i'd never cheap out on an o2 sensor though..not only do they go bad easily, but when they do go bad they can send mixed signals to your ecu resulting in the CEL still..seen it happen many times

 

[serversurfer]

Well, it's not a "cheap" sensor. It's the exact same Bosch sensor that AutoZone sells for $67, but it's $27 from Amazon instead. (13249) I've heard some people say that Bosch sensors are great, and other people say they're crap and you should get the Denso sensors instead, but according to AutoZone, the Bosch have a 1-year warranty, while the Denso only have a 3-month, so I figured I'd go Bosch. (Also, the Denso cost almost 30% more on Amazon.)

Assuming I actually have an oxygen sensor, that is. I'm about to go search again, actually. I may be back with pics if I can't find it.

 

[RonJ]

If you plan to work on your car, BUY A MULTIMETER. Harbor Freight Tools often has an adequate digital multimeter on sale for $3.